Cost of ID cards hits £5.3 billion

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The £200 million leap — which does not include the cost of machines to read the cards — was revealed as Home Secretary Jacqui Smith announced that, this autumn, Manchester will become the first city where Britons can sign up for a card.

Ms Smith said residents there would be able to go to pharmacies and post offices to enrol while "doing the shopping" and insisted that ID cards could play an important role in combating crime, illegal immigration and terrorism.

Critics warned that the scheme, under which citizens will have to pay £30 for the card and, potentially, a similar amount to enrol, was a waste of taxpayers' money. Shadow home secretary Chris Grayling said: "Piloting the scheme in one city is nonsensical and will only serve as a tax on the people of Manchester. They should abandon this farce."

Ministers aim to make the cards available to all British citizens by 2012.